Dr. Frederick A. Godley, an otolaryngologist who practices in Providence and East Greenwich at University Otolaryngology, is president of the Association of Migraine Disorders. He co-founded the North Kingstown-based organization in 2012.
Godley discusses the association’s recently launched fundraising campaign, Research is Hope. The campaign, which aims to raise $200,000 for migraine research, runs through Dec. 31.
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PBN: What was the inspiration behind creating the Research is Hope campaign, and how much money are you hoping to raise?
GODLEY: The Association of Migraine Disorders is a nonprofit organization devoted to improving the care of people living with migraine disease. This is a remarkably prevalent disease affecting 12% of the U.S. population and is a leading cause of disability in women and men between the ages of 25-50 years [old]. Additionally, it is estimated that 20 million people are not yet diagnosed. Most people are not aware of the impact of this disease, as it is commonly thought of as “just a headache.”
Although the migraine community has celebrated the availability of new medications over the past two years, there are still millions of people who are not being helped with currently available treatment options.
Becky Dwyer lost her daughter, Melissa, to suicide in 2013 due to chronic migraine. Melissa spent her teenage years in and out of hospitals desperate to find relief, which never came. Becky said, “I want to see effective treatments and a cure in my lifetime. We’ve lost so many in the migraine community and others are hanging on by a thread. I want to give them the hope they desperately need.”
It’s all those who are desperate for hope who are the inspiration behind this campaign. Research is a crucial step in giving patients hope for new treatments. Therefore, AMD has assembled a committee of more than 20 leading clinical and basic science researchers that has identified knowledge gaps that will influence the creation of innovative migraine research projects.
The goal of the Research is Hope campaign is to raise $200,000 to begin funding some of these projects. We have a generous donor matching up to $100,000, so we believe this is a very achievable goal even in these trying economic times.
PBN: What do you plan to do with the money raised by the campaign?
GODLEY: With $200,000 we can get four $50,000 pilot projects started. Projects under consideration by AMD’s Research Advisory Committee include understanding how hormones affect the nervous system, a global patient registry, identifying when migraine affects dizziness and understanding the role of biomarkers and genetics.
PBN: What has the reception been to Research is Hope thus far?
GODLEY: AMD launched this fundraising campaign in early November. We have had positive feedback about the need for more research funds by those who live with migraine and their loved ones. However, we hope that the business community would be interested and supportive for two reasons.
First, studies have shown that screening and simple supportive measures for employees with migraine improve worker productivity and loyalty but also contribute to lower health care costs. Second, AMD is working with the existing neuroscience community in Rhode Island to make a research and treatment clinic one of the future drivers in the local economy.
PBN: Is there any migraine research going on in Rhode Island right now that you are aware of?
GODLEY: AMD has supported a unique postdoctoral research fellowship at the Carney Institute for Neuroscience. This group has developed a new animal model for testing the efficacy of migraine medications. Dale Bond, Ph.D., a Brown University researcher works with the Miriam Hospital Weight Loss Clinic in pioneering methods to control headache through weight reduction.
PBN: Do you know of any migraine treatments or clinical trials on the horizon that seem promising?
GODLEY: Those with migraine can look forward to a few new treatment options that will likely be available in 2021. In 2019 and 2020 the community saw the release of a new class of medications called gepants. Another medication in this class called zavegepant made by Biohaven Pharmaceuticals is expected to be released within the next year. While other medications in this class are used for acute treatment, zavegepant is being studied for both acute and preventive use.
Another new medication in the pipeline is AXS-07 by Axsome Therapeutics. This investigational drug is a combination of meloxicam and rizatriptan and is expected to become available in 2021. Other pharmaceutical companies are working on new delivery methods of already available medications. Zosano Pharmaceuticals is working on a micro-needle delivery system for zolmitriptan.
Another company, Impel Neuropharma, is investigating an upper nasal delivery technology for DHE, which has completed phase 3 trials and is expected to be released in 2021.
Lastly, single-use of low-dose psilocybin is a new exciting medical intervention that is being studied at Yale Medical School. However, even if proved safe and effective, we likely won’t see this become available for many years.
Elizabeth Graham is a PBN contributing writer.
